Woman Charged in €1.5 Million Gold Nugget Theft from Paris Museum
A Chinese-born woman has been charged with the theft of six gold nuggets, valued at approximately 1.5 million euros, from the Museum of Natural History in Paris last month.
The suspect was arrested in Barcelona on September 30th while attempting to sell melted gold and is currently in pre-trial detention. Authorities discovered an angle-grinder and a blowtorch at the scene of the crime, which targeted the museum’s mineralogy gallery. The theft was facilitated by a prior cyber-attack that disabled the museum’s alarm and surveillance systems, indicating a sophisticated and informed operation. This incident highlights growing concerns about security vulnerabilities in cultural institutions across Europe.
Museum director Emmanuel Skoulios stated, “We are dealing with an extremely professional team, perfectly aware of where they needed to go, and with professional equipment.” He further emphasized to France 2 television last month that, “It is absolutely not by chance that they went for these specific items.” One of the stolen nuggets, originally from Australia, weighed 5kg and is currently valued at around €585,000. The break-in was discovered by cleaning staff arriving before dawn, and the suspect was believed to be preparing to travel to China.
This theft follows a recent daring raid at the Louvre Museum, where priceless French crown jewels were stolen just days prior. Experts, like art detective Arthur Brand, believe the stolen items will likely be broken down and sold for a fraction of their worth. Investigations are ongoing, and officials say they are continuing to pursue leads in both cases.
